Delhi doctors declare pollution emergency as smog chokes city

Levels of airborne pollutants are off the scale in parts of Indias capital with effects likened to smoking 50 cigarettes a day

A public health emergency has been declared by doctors in Delhi as air quality in the worlds most polluted capital city plunged to levels likened to smoking at least 50 cigarettes in a single day.

Slow winds and colder temperatures have been blamed for a surge in airborne pollutants beyond what instruments in the city could measure with some recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) maximum of 999.

The Indian Medical Association said the countrys capital was suffering a health emergency and called for an upcoming half-marathon to be cancelled to avoid disastrous health consequences.

Residents were warned to avoid leaving their homes as smog enveloped streets and landmarks on Tuesday, sparking road, rail and airport delays and renewed calls for Indian state and federal governments to act.

The Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said the city was a gas chamber as his government met on Tuesday afternoon to consider a response to the crisis. Primary schools, already asked to keep students indoors, will be shut on Wednesday and possibly longer if the poor conditions persist.

The crowd paired their race-day dresses and suits with pollution masks but Pennell said the foul air failed to dampen the mood. You tuck up your children inside where the air is purified and for these few hours you risk your health to let your hair down, she said.

And then you can go back and lock yourself inside your apartment and breathe clean air unlike most Indians.

Delhis air quality is extremely poor for most of the year due to road dust, open fires, vehicle exhaust fumes, industrial emissions and the burning of crop residues in neighbouring states.

But conditions worsen in winter months when slow winds and cool temperatures trap pollutants closer to the ground.

As awareness of the problem in Delhi has grown, various methods have been tried to clear the atmosphere including shutting down a local coal-fired power station, traffic rationing and banning firecrackers during Diwali, the annual Hindu festival.

But any lasting solution would need to simultaneously tackle the myriad sources of pollution and involve dozens of state and municipal governments in a country where law enforcement is notoriously patchy.

Though Delhi gets most attention, toxic air afflicts the entire north Indian plain, including parts of Pakistan. A study last year found the holy city of Varanasi had among the worst air in the country.

Airtel, the leading sponsor of the upcoming Delhi half-marathon, urged the city government to ensure the safety of runners, indicating that it may pull out of the event next year.

Air pollution poses serious health risks and it is important that these concerns are addressed urgently and appropriately by the authorities for Airtel to continue associating with the event next year and beyond, it said in a statement.

The World Health Organisation in 2014 classed Delhi as the worlds most polluted capital, with air quality levels worse than Beijing. A 2015 study showed about half the Indian capitals 4.4 million schoolchildren had compromised lung capacity and would never totally recover.

Delhi smog declared public health emergency

A public health emergency has been declared in Delhi as a choking blanket of smog descended on one of the world’s most polluted capital cities. The declaration from the Indian Medical Association came as the US embassy website said levels of the fine pollutants known as PM2.5 that are most harmful to health reached 703 on the air quality index – well over double the threshold of 300 that authorities class as hazardous